SEGA working on PS2/Xbox Monkey Ball title

SEGA is "definitely" working on a PS2 and Xbox Monkey Ball title, retail sources told Eurogamer today, and should be able confirm its existence in the near future. A SEGA Europe spokesman declined to comment on the story this morning.

Super Monkey Ball Deluxe is the name, and it will apparently feature more than 300 levels from both previous GameCube-exclusive Monkey Ball titles, as well as 46 brand new levels. SEGA is not, however, planning any form of Xbox Live support.

Monkey Ball fans can also look forward to a new 'challenge' mode that combines the three difficulty levels of the original games, and a story mode featuring 12 party games, although exact details are rather hazy at the moment.

Nevertheless that hasn't stopped various retailers listing the game on their websites, and our source told us that the publisher would aim for the same launch slot that did Sonic Heroes so well earlier this year, which probably means we'll get to play it in the first few months of 2005.

Furthermore, our source indicated that the game would not retail at full price, so it's entirely possible that it could arrive at a budget price of £19.99 on both formats, or at the most £29.99. Either way, that's a lot of bang for your banana.